The past year I learned how the Holy Spirit is really always present. I think I used to imagine the Spirit more like a bird (thank you, centuries of art history) that would alight briefly, then take off again. Leaving us to sit around and stare at the sky, hoping for a return. But since I took the leap to start Mothering Spirit, I have come into this deeper awareness of the Spirit all around us, all the time. More like air, which we notice when there’s a great wind or a gentle breeze, but is always there. Just this week I heard stories of God at work in such big and small ways in people’s lives, I have to laugh at how often I must have missed the Spirit in the details before, because I was looking for a dramatic entrance and missed the very air we breathe.
I've learned that God cares about my pain. I tend to be better at intercessory prayer than most other kinds, and at one point when I was praying for healing for my daughter I was crying out, "She's in PAIN! Do something! Don't you care?" And the response on my heart almost immediately was, "I care about your pain too." This sort of response to prayer (usually of the anguished variety) has happened only a handful of times in my life, but this one has haunted my prayer ever since. It has changed my prayer too, for sure.
The past year I learned how the Holy Spirit is really always present. I think I used to imagine the Spirit more like a bird (thank you, centuries of art history) that would alight briefly, then take off again. Leaving us to sit around and stare at the sky, hoping for a return. But since I took the leap to start Mothering Spirit, I have come into this deeper awareness of the Spirit all around us, all the time. More like air, which we notice when there’s a great wind or a gentle breeze, but is always there. Just this week I heard stories of God at work in such big and small ways in people’s lives, I have to laugh at how often I must have missed the Spirit in the details before, because I was looking for a dramatic entrance and missed the very air we breathe.
I've learned that God cares about my pain. I tend to be better at intercessory prayer than most other kinds, and at one point when I was praying for healing for my daughter I was crying out, "She's in PAIN! Do something! Don't you care?" And the response on my heart almost immediately was, "I care about your pain too." This sort of response to prayer (usually of the anguished variety) has happened only a handful of times in my life, but this one has haunted my prayer ever since. It has changed my prayer too, for sure.
Amy, this is beautiful. And powerful. You’ve given me something new to think about for my own prayer life right now—thank you.